They say that knowledge is the first step to wisdom, so anything that can help us improve has got to be a good thing, right? Especially when it has to do with how we feel and how we’re getting on with our lives. Now there’s a free app which promises to help us understand more about what makes us tick, and so help us optimize our lives in different ways.

Thrivetracker is a simple life logger which you can use to track your moods, anxiety and sleep patterns as well as write up a journal to put it into context. The idea is that by doing this we can see what things affect us positively and which things don’t. Because one of the big problems with life is there’s so much of it, which makes it hard to know which way to look.

Of course with apps like this it’s all about the quality of the data (rubbish in, rubbish out) so the program tries to keep you on the straight and narrow by alerting you to enter your data on a regular basis. And if you do this properly, there’s little doubt that you’ll soon pick up patterns of behavior you never knew existed. Like bad moods after visits to the relatives etc. The app is available for iPhone at the moment, which Android on its way.

Nigel is the managing editor of the Red Ferret, as well as a freelance columnist for the Sunday Times newspaper in London. Loves tech and fancies himself as a bit of a futurist, but then don’t we all?